Rear-Facing Carseats With European Beltpath Routing

European beltpath routing. If you’re not already familiar with the term – let me explain. It references a particular way to install a rear-facing convertible or infant carseat without using the base. European belt routing is only for installations using the vehicle’s lap/shoulder seatbelt. It does not apply to installations using the lower LATCH anchors or to installation of the infant seat base. Only a few seats sold here in the U.S. allow European belt routing but it has become a popular feature so we decided to make a list of which seats currently available allow it.

Benefits of European Belt Routing:

When the shoulder belt is routed behind the shell of a rear-facing child restraint it helps to maintain a semi-upright position during a frontal crash. Limiting the downward rotation that a rear-facing seat makes during a frontal crash has several potential benefits. Maintaining a more upright angle during a crash means the impact loads are distributed more to the back of the child – which is ideal. The more a rear-facing seat rotates downward in a crash the more the impact loads are applied to the child’s shoulders and neck – as it stretches, pulling away from the body. The other potential benefit of maintaining a more upright orientation during a crash is that it may reduce the likelihood of the carseat striking the back of the front seat or console directly in front of it.

Installation Issues & Incompatibilities:

The biggest potential issue with Euro beltpath routing is that some seatbelts aren’t long enough to accommodate this routing. If that winds up being the case in your vehicle – you can install the seat without the base using the traditional seatbelt installation method instead. None of the carseats that allow Euro bethpath routing actually require it. They may recommend it, but they don’t mandate it. That’s because the carseat manufacturers understand that it’s not possible in all vehicles due to seatbelt length which varies from vehicle to vehicle.

When Euro routing the Coccoro I find that leaving the belt unlocked allows too much movement, while locking the belt can cause the seat to tip upwards into a very upright position. I have not tried using the blue external lock-off. Any thoughts?

I tried this with with my Snugride 35 in the captain chairs in the middle row of my “04 Odyssey. It worked after I moved the seat all the way back. With it forward even a little, the seatbelt was too short. I love this option. I find using just the seatbelt to be kind of wobbly – but with the Euro-routing it was solid.

Kecia – Is there a link to a statement from Graco okaying that Euro belt routing? I keep reading that it’s okay but I can’t find a source on it anywhere. I’d love to have it in my back pocket to show parents if the need arises, but without the manual or a statement, my hands are tied! Thanks

I could be wrong, but I don’t think the Euro routing on the Cocorro goes thru any kind of “lock off”, so I still lock the belt. I will reread my manual in a minute. Mine doesn’t tip up, but I could see if I didn’t wedge it down in the seat while tightening the belt, that could happen. Oddly enough, in both the vehicles I’ve put it in, without the Euro routing, there isn’t enough belt pulled out to keep it locked…and with Euro routing, I can BARELY get the seatbelt all the way around the back. I have to tip the seat all the way forward while threading the belt.